India used the Swordfish system for the first time in the PAD test on March 6 and initially verified its capability. It used the Green Pine system in both AAD tests and is expected to use the Swordfish system in AAD tests from 2009 to 2011.

India's air-based early warning system includes the Israeli Phalcon system and the airplane-mounted early warning system it is currently developing. India has purchased three Phalcon systems, the first of which was delivered in May. It has been reported that India is planning to purchase another five Phalcon systems. It plans to use its self-developed early warning system to equip its EMB-145 aircraft, which will start flight tests in 2012. India's space-based early warning system will mainly consist of a constellation of at least six military surveillance satellites to provide its military intelligence agencies with high-resolution images.

The DRDO plans to conduct a joint PAD and AAD interception test this year. India expects to see the first phase of its missile defense system become combat effective by 2011. After that, it will begin to conduct tests for the second phase of its missile defense program to develop a new missile defense system that can intercept ballistic missiles with a range of more than 3,500 km. It also plans to develop a laser interception system, which can intercept an incoming missile during its boost phase. It will take at least 10 to 15 years to develop the laser interception system, according to the DRDO.

Three features

First, India has spent a huge amount of money on developing its missile defense system. In 2004, India's Ministry of Finance announced plans to establish a $5.5-billion fund for national defense modernization. Part of the fund was to be devoted to acquiring Phalcon early warning aircraft and the Arrow II missile defense system, which India failed to purchase from Israel because of U.S. interference, and to developing indigenous missile defense technology. It has been reported that in recent years India's defense expenditure has reached $15 billion each year, about one third of which was spent on the missile defense system. The large expenditure has proven to be a heavy burden on India, a developing country. That's why many people in India adopt a negative attitude toward the missile defense system.

Second, India faces severe difficulties in making its missile defense system combat effective. A missile defense system involves key technologies in detection, interception, command, control and communications. Even the United States has encountered many technical problems as it develops its missile defense system.

India's interceptor missiles are much heavier than America's PAC-3 missiles. PAD missiles are 10 times the weight of PAC-3 missiles, whereas AAD missiles are nearly four times the weight of PAC-3 missiles. Also, the first stage of PAD missiles is powered by a liquid-fueled rocket engine, resulting in a longer time for launch preparation. These factors hinder the speed of response of India's missile defense system. India conducted tests of its missile defense system fully aware of the technical specifications and trajectories of the target missiles, something that is impossible in real warfare.

Third, India is eager to work together with other countries, such as Israel and the United States, to enhance its missile defense capacity. In the 1990s, it participated in Israel's missile defense program by pumping funds into the program and conducting joint research. The United States, however, prevented it from acquiring the Arrow II system at the time out of concerns that India's introduction of a missile defense system might tilt the strategic balance in South Asia.

Given the changes in the international situation in recent years, the United States has begun to consider cooperating with India on missile defense in an effort to strengthen its potential strategic alliance with India and expand the coverage of its missile defense system. In 2005, India's Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld signed the new framework for the defense relationship between the two countries, vowing to expand collaboration relating to missile defense. The British newspaper Financial Times reported in January that the United States was in initial talks with India about India's possible purchase of a U.S. missile shield system to guard New Delhi against nuclear threats. But the Pentagon soon denied the report.

In the future, India is likely to cooperate with the United States in several fields. By making the most of its advantages in software development, it can participate in the development of America's missile defense system to become a contractor of the system. It may purchase from the United States sophisticated interceptor weapons such as the land-based PAC-3 and THAAD systems and the sea-based Aegis system. It may also share America's missile alarm information. India will see its missile defense capacity greatly enhanced if the United States agrees to provide it with early warning information from U.S. satellites.

The author is an engineer at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology